"Marine, what are you dodging for? Weren't you here to take my life? Come on, then!"
Winter bellowed furiously at Kyros, a twisted grin crawling across his face as the searing pain from his severed arm grew sharper. A burning sensation throbbed through the stump, its intensity almost unbearable. Blood had trailed behind him across the deck with every movement, and Winter could feel his strength draining away. His last strike hadn't even been close to full power.
If he didn't take this Marine down soon, he was going to die.
But something gnawed at him, why hadn't Yoriichi Tsugikuni acted again? Why had he allowed this battle to unfold with Kyros, standing idle at the ship's bow? Was it that his Devil Fruit ability needed a cooldown? Or maybe… maybe he was out of stamina? Or was this all just to sharpen Kyros, using him like a stepping stone?
Winter didn't know the answer. He kept sneaking glances at the red-haired boy sitting so calmly ahead, trying to read his intent, but he couldn't figure it out.
Meanwhile, the pirates had already swarmed Kyros. He moved rapidly through them, his blade dancing, constantly on the move. He dodged, blocked, and countered, slashing down three or four of them in seconds. But the numbers were too great. He took hits, minor wounds at first, but they added up. If not for his mastery of Armament Haki and the Iron Body technique, Kyros would've fallen already.
Even so, several deep cuts appeared on his body. These weren't random slashes, they came from Winter's top officers.
This was the Giant Beast Pirates, sharing a name with the legendary all-giant pirate crew. Aside from Winter, whose bounty exceeded 500 million, three officers on board had bounties of over 100 million each.
These men hid in the fray, sneaking in attacks when Kyros was distracted. But even as they pressed in, their eyes weren't on Kyros. No, they were fixated on the real threat: Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
They all knew, Kyros wasn't the one to be afraid of. The real monster sat calmly at the front of the ship.
Winter gritted his teeth. "We have to at least try attacking Yoriichi… even if it's probably suicide, we can't leave it untested."
He glanced back at the still-fighting Kyros, then tore a strip of his shirt and tightly wrapped it around his arm to slow the bleeding.
With a low crouch, Winter launched forward again.
"Whoosh, "
The sheer force of his movement sliced through the air. Kyros, anticipating him, deflected another pirate's blow and leapt out of the way.
"Boom!!"
Winter's fist slammed into the deck again, kicking up a cloud of splinters and smoke. But he wasn't watching Kyros anymore. He exchanged a brief glance with one of his officers hidden in the crowd.
A shadow darted out from the smoke.
A glint of steel appeared in Kyros's pupil.
Fast,
This man had been holding back the entire time.
Without needing thought, Kyros raised his sword, deflecting the blade just as it reached him. He twisted his body to the side, narrowly avoiding the full force of the blow.
The black shadow passed him, then kept running.
Kyros whipped around.
The assassin wasn't targeting him. He was headed straight for Yoriichi.
A hunched, wiry man no taller than 160 cm with twin daggers in hand sprinted toward the bow. Fast, so fast he blurred. But from Yoriichi's seated vantage, he was moving in slow motion. Yoriichi could even see the blackheads on the man's face.
"Yoriichi Tsugikuni! Your head is mine!"
The assassin screeched, lunging toward Yoriichi with blades flashing in the moonlight.
A metallic note rang out.
The shriek was cut short.
Yoriichi's sword, previously at his side, was now in his hand, its blade embedded through the man's chest.
Blood filled the assassin's throat, silencing him. His arms fell limp. His daggers clattered onto the golden statue below with a dull clang.
Eyes wide with confusion and hatred, the man stared into Yoriichi's calm face, then his eyes lost focus. He stopped breathing.
A single strike had pierced his heart.
To everyone else, it looked like he had run into Yoriichi's blade himself.
A chill swept through the pirates watching from the deck.
One of Winter's officers, Kristian Laden, bounty 120 million, famed for his stealth assassinations, was dead in an instant.
"Mere gravel…" Yoriichi said quietly. "Not even a fraction of me."
He glanced coldly at the corpse, then flicked his blade, sending the body tumbling into the sea with a splash.
Standing up, Yoriichi turned toward Kyros.
"Alright, Kyros. That's enough. This trial came a little too soon for you. Once your Armament Haki reaches the next level and you fully master Ryuo, I'll give you a proper opponent."
"It's late. I need my sleep."
His eyes now turned toward the rest of the pirates.
Winter blinked, Yoriichi was suddenly in front of him.
He tried to strike, instinctively raising a fist,
But his vision shifted.
The moon and stars were above him.
When did I look up? he wondered.
He had no answer.
Then everything went black.
Thump.
Winter's head hit the deck with a dull thud.
Yoriichi remained motionless, sword extended in a finishing pose. Slowly, he looked up at the other pirates.
"...!!!"
"Run!!"
With Winter's body collapsing at their feet, the pirates panicked. Someone screamed.
Those who had surrounded Kyros scattered in terror. Some leapt for the rails, ready to throw themselves into the sea.
But a crack of thunder stopped them.
A wave of pressure struck the ship.
Conqueror's Haki.
Yoriichi released it in full, ignoring Kyros entirely and targeting only the pirates.
The weak ones collapsed immediately, eyes rolling back.
The stronger ones staggered, slowed.
Waves rippled across the once-calm sea as the Haki spread.
Yoriichi raised his blade,
And slashed.
"Hummmmm!!!"
Kyros saw just one swing, but it produced hundreds of flying slashes.
One Slash, One Thousand Strikes.
The deck exploded with motion.
"Pff! Pff!"
In the blink of an eye, the pirates froze mid-run.
A breeze passed. Corpses fell, into the sea, onto the deck.
Hundreds of pirates. High bounties. Low bounties. It didn't matter. Under Yoriichi's blade, all were equal. All perished.
"So strong…" Kyros muttered, stunned.
Yoriichi sheathed his sword and gave Kyros a glance.
"You'll be able to do this one day."
"It's nothing special."
"Let's go."
He leapt into the air.
Kyros stood there, mouth open, watching Yoriichi's silhouette merge with the moon.
He looked at the corpses and whispered:
"Nothing special?"
"To you… that's all this is?"
"…Jealousy really is a powerful thing, Vice Admiral Yoriichi."
Kyros lowered his head and stared at the wounds crisscrossing his body.
He used to feel pride.
He'd risen from a street brawler to a champion in the Colosseum, undefeated in hundreds of matches.
But back when Yoriichi and Kuzan recruited him, he remembered clearly:
He was defeated in a single move by twelve-year-old Yoriichi.
Since joining the Marines, his strength had grown massively, and he thought he was catching up.
But he was wrong.
If Kyros was once a spring, and Yoriichi a lake… then now Kyros was a stream, and Yoriichi had become an ocean.
That "gravel" insult,
It wasn't just for the pirates.
"Vice Admiral Yoriichi… must be so lonely at the top."
"I swear, I'll catch up to you. I won't waste a single second."
Kyros exhaled deeply, looked once more at the moon, then ran to the ship's bow and leapt after his commander.
"It's over," came a murmur from the warship.
Mihawk turned and walked back to his quarters as the slashes echoed behind him.
Issho and the others rushed to greet Yoriichi.
"Vice Admiral, was it all taken care of?"
Koshiro stepped up. His Observation Haki didn't reach that far, so he'd waited anxiously for a report.
Issho just smiled. He knew the outcome without asking.
"Have the crew work through the night," Yoriichi instructed.
"Inventory everything on the pirate ship. We'll use it to compensate Dressrosa's people."
"Photograph every corpse. Separate the wanted criminals."
"Kyros will file the report. I want it sent to HQ within two days."
Sword in hand, he walked off toward his quarters.
"Yes, sir!"
He might've gone to sleep, but the Marines were buzzing with energy.
Treasure. Rewards. Promotions. It was all on that pirate ship.
Sleep? Who had time for that?
But the moment they boarded the ship,
They found the hold… completely empty.
No gold. Barely any paper money.
Aside from a deck full of corpses, there was nothing of value.
Even the glittering golden statue at the bow was just painted wood. Worthless.
The only valuable thing left, were the bounties on the pirates' heads.
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